Rural Revolution

* Explain how the government policies
in Venezuela are causing the collapse
of that country’s economy.

If you answered the first three questions
but are clueless on the fourth, you aren't
the only one. Estimates are that up to half
the population in America is ignorant
about the situation in Venezuela. Oh
sure, they hear snippets on the evening
news, but since it’s far away and happening to other people, they don’t worry
about it.

These people are suffering from a
Normalcy Bias.

Just what is a Normalcy Bias? It’s definedas a mental state which “causes peopleto underestimate both the possibilityof a disaster occurring and its possibleeffects.” A Normalcy Bias is the inabilityto mentally grasp the notion that any-thing could ever change for the worse.It’s sometimes called the “It can’t happenhere” syndrome. The assumption is thatsince a particular disaster has never oc-curred before (or hasn’t in a long while),it never will. Any disturbing indicationsthat something bad may happen aredismissed or trivialized.

In a nutshell, it’s the ostrich effect: if you
stick your head in the sand and can’t see
what’s around you, then what’s around
you doesn’t exist because you don’t see it.
Circular argument, anyone?

Originally the Normalcy Bias referredsolely to natural disasters. The scale ofdevastation and societal disruption fromHurricane Katrina can be attributed inpart to a Normalcy Bias—the refusal ofthe people of New Orleans to believetheir beloved city could ever receive adirect hit from a major hurricane, despiteits physical vulnerabilities. I distinctlyremember seeing a live news report fromNew Orleans on the evening of August
28, 2005, that showed people partyingin the street with a (then) Category 4hurricane hours away from landfall. Di-saster? Nah. It can’t happen here. Gimmeanother drink.

When we hear the mainstream media
assuring us in soothing, condescending
tones that we’re in an economic “
recovery”—despite all evidence to the contrary—we want desperately to believe it.
We don’t want anything to disrupt our
ordinary, comfortable lives. We genuinely believe if we cling to our normal way
of life and habitual methods of doing
things—despite overwhelming proof
that something dangerous is looming—
then everything will be okay. It can’t
happen here.